Tuning-hammer



(No Model.)

P. W. HALE.

I v 'TUNING HAMMER. No. 310,673. Patented Jan. 13, 1885.

.Fwenior Mina M UNITED STATES Parsgr FRANCIS \V. HALE, OF .KOQTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TUNING-HAMMER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 310,673, dated January 13, 1885.

Application filed February 26, 188-1.

2?) all whom, it 'nuw concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANCIS W. llama, of Boston, county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tuning-IIammers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof, in which- Figure 1 is a side View, partly in section, of my device. Figs. 2 and 3 are viewsin detail.

My invention relates to that class of instruments employed chiefly in tuning pianos, and commonly termed tunirig-hammers, and my object in my invention is to comprise in asingle implement so far as possible the variety of ii'nple nents usually constituting a tuners outfit, to arrange in the implement itself the means of its own adjustment, and to adapt it to a wide range of application to instruments generally.

To this end my invention consists in improved means for securing the stem in its desired adjustment in the hollow handle in means within the handle for firmly securing the stem in theheadordetaehingit therefrom, and in means for adapting the head to the various sizes and forms of pins upon which the piano-strings are wound. These features of my invention will be definitely pointed out in the claims.

My hammer has, in common with others of its class, a head, A, a stem, 13, and a hollow handle, 0. The stem screws into the head at its upper part, and telescopes into and out of the cavity of the handle in the wellknown manner; but in lieu of the ordinary set-screw passing through the handle to bind the stem in its adjusted position in the handle-which set-screw is an annoyance to thehand, is easily lost, and,besides, often holding but insecnrely, requires the additional implement, a screwdriver or wrench, to operate it,in lieu of this I prolong the ferrule a upon the handle and reduce its thickness so as to render it when split, as at b, sufficiently elastic. This reduced part is preferably screw-threaded to receive the clamping-nut 0. Either the screwthreaded ferrule or the nut, orboth, are made very slightly tapering at the engaging parts to In some cases,

secure the clamping action.

(No model.)

when the ferrule and the nut are considerably elongated, the clamping action may be obtained by simply a smooth tapering lit of one upon the other; but I prefer the threading of the parts. This construction causes the end of the handle to clasp the stem firmly all around it, which is not the ease in the oldsetscrew construction, and the nut being of some size and suitably milled is easily operated by the fingers, so that no wrenchorscrew-drivcr is needed.

In order to firmly screw the stem into the head, or to detach it therefrom, I employ, in addition to the beforedescribed connection of the handle and stem, a clutch device to positively rotate the stem by the handle.

My preferred form of clutch is a fork, (1, formed upon the end of the stem within the handle, which, when the stem is pushed far into the handle, engages a pin, 6, which passes through the handle and through the cavity of it. This makes it impossible for the stem to turn in the handle.

The difference in the sizes and forms of the pins upon which the strings of different pianos are wound has rendered it necessary for a tuner to keep a variety of hammers, or at least of heads with differently sized and formed. sockets. I avoid this by forming the socket portion of the head in a separate piece, f, and I attach it to the head, a threaded portion of it being entered into a similarlythreaded socket in the head. \Vith this construction it is necessary only that a tuner providehimself with the necessary variety of socket portions or tips.

In order to obtain the best results with this construction, I form the head proper of soft steel and harden the threaded socket into which the lower part or tip is entered. The tip is of the best tool-steel, left soft at its threaded part, but hardened at its socket end. This construction, with the soft steel threaded part engaging the hardened portion of the head, enables me to avoid the necessity of a set-screw to prevent one part from turning in the other. lVhen these two parts are firmly screwed together, there is sufficient friction to prevent the tip unscrewing when necessary to turn the pin back.

to slide and swivel in said handle, the clamp- I may make the socket in the tip double, or with the orosssectional form of two squares or two triangles intersecting each other.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the tubular handle 0, the tubular ferrule a thereon, having its forward part elongated and reduced, split, and externally threaded,the round stem B, adapted ing-nut c, and the head A (a of the tuninghammer, as and for the purpose set forth. l

2. The combination, with the head A of a tuning-hammer formed of steel, threaded at its lower part and hardened flier-eat, of the tip f,

also of steel soft at its threaded nipple and hardened at its lower end, whereby the threads of the tip bind in the head,which prevents the tip from unscrewing when the hammer is 

